Mesothelioma Life Expectancy, Staging and Prognosis

Mesothelioma Life Expectancy, Staging and Prognosis

Mesothelioma life expectancy is among the lowest of all cancer types. One of the reasons is because the cancer cells develop on the lining of organ’s tissue so it is easy for them to spread to other organs.

Moreover, for pleural mesothelioma, most of the symptoms resemble the signs of other respiratory diseases so doctors often make misdiagnosis, not to mention that there is no special screening system for this cancer up to this time.

Once you get diagnosed, you will need to get proper treatment so you can survive. To make sure you can get the treatment that you need according the severity of the cancer, let’s find out about stages of mesothelioma and the life expectancy for each stages.

Stages of Mesothelioma

1. Stage 1

In this stage, the cancer is only found on one part of the organ, the size is relatively small and it has not metastasized with other organs. During this stage, surgery and other treatment to remove the cancer cells are possible to be done and even encouraged. Even in stage 1, the prognosis is pretty low. However, most mesothelioma survivors are being diagnosed in this stage.

2. Stage 2

Mesothelioma life expectancy in this stage will decrease significantly. That’s why, it is very important to diagnose the disease before it reaches stage 2. However, surgery, chemotherapy and other treatments are still possible to deliver positive result and the right treatments can even remove the cancer cells. If the cancer has gotten bigger, radiation therapy might be needed to shrink the tumor before the surgery is done.

3. Stage 3

In this stage, the cancer has metastasized to other organs and lymph nodes. Surgery might not be helping because the cancer cells have attacked other organs. One of possible treatment is chemotherapy.

4. Stage 4

Stage 4 mesothelioma life expectancy is very low. Unfortunately, most patients are being diagnosed in this stage. In this stage, the cancer has spread to lymphatic systems and other vital organs. Unfortunately, invasive therapy will not help much in this stage because the patient often cannot stand the effect of those treatments.

Prognosis

In general, mesothelioma prognosis is very low. However, please don’t get discouraged because actually some patients managed to survive this disease. One of the most prominent survivors is Heather Von James, an American woman that has succeeded to reclaim her healthy life after battling mesothelioma for ten years.

There are many other survivors and the key to their survival is by diagnosing the cancer at early stage and find the right treatment. The world has changed now. People are more aware of asbestos danger and treatment system has been better and more modern. So, survival rate has been increasing lately and mesothelioma life expectancy has moved towards a better direction.